Coaching Youth Baseball the Ripken Way

by Cal Ripken Jr., Bill Ripken, Scott Lowe

Coaching young players, developing their skills, and cultivating a love for the sport may be the most rewarding experience baseball can offer. Cal and Bill Ripken understand this like few others.

From their father, Cal Sr., a legend in the Baltimore Orioles organization for 37 years, they learned to play the game the right way. Those lessons, paired with their combined 33 years of big league experience, helped develop the Ripken Way, a method of teaching the game through simple instruction, solid explanations, encouragement, and a positive atmosphere. In Coaching Youth Baseball the Ripken Way , Cal and Bill share this approach to coaching and development.

Whether you’re teaching your children at home, managing the local travel team, or working with high school-level players, Coaching Youth Baseball the Ripken Way will help you make a difference both on and off the field, with these features:

Genres: Sports, Baseball, Nonfiction

264 pages, Paperback

First published December 15, 2006

Reviews

[Robert Lester · Rating 5 out of 5]

3rd coaching book on youth baseball that I have read. Hands down the best. Not overloaded with drills. A good healthy narrative on how to deal with parents, planning practices, and developing the youth baseball player. If you are looking to coach youth baseball, look no further than this book.

[Cyrus Samii · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five stars on philosophy, three stars on the drills. I think Dave Holt’s stuff is better for drills and practice organization, coming from the same philosophy. But altogether helpful for figuring out a good, developmental program for Little League coaching.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent reference and how-to book for coaching baseball teams of all ages. Cal Ripken Jr.'s philosophy on baseball, coaching, and how sports fit into life is practical and well-rounded.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

4 stars on the philosophical approach to coaching. 2 stars for the actual drills

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liked the keep it simple coaching philosophy idea. Useful easy preseason study

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for new coaches

[Scott Breslove · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very helpful for a usually assistant coach turned head coach for this fall ball

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for baseball coaches of all different ages and skill levels. It’s got some great ideas for practice, drills, and player development. If you are always looking for ways to keep things fun and master the basics then you should definitely thumb through this book. There’s a lot of good advice on all the different aspects of coaching. I highly recommend it.

[Mark Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book should be in the library of any Little League baseball coach.

The first half of the book describes the Ripkens' philosophy of coaching youth sports, and would be as applicable to basketball, football, or field hockey as it is to baseball. This section covers communication with parents and kids, how to deal with challenging parents, how to coach your own child, and what expectations are appropriate for different age groups. Although many coaches may be tempted to skip this section to get to the more pragmatic practice plan and drill sections, these philosophical underpinnings are important, and, thanks to the breezy, workmanlike style of the book, easy to digest.

The second half of the book is completely baseball-specific. It suggests practice plans for different age groups and a variety of drills useful in teaching particular skills. The plans and drills are excellent, but it would have been helpful to have a few more options from which to choose. Children enjoy variety (and the book quite rightly stresses the importance of keeping children engaged by doing different things), but there is a relatively small set of drills from which to choose.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for anyone coaching youth baseball or, as in my case, running one practice because the head coach was unavailable. Great overall coaching tips (that would apply to any sport) and a great collection of fundamental baseball drills broken down and organized by the age level where they would be appropriate. I got trough the entire book in one afternoon (not a bad feature if you're cramming for practice plans), to the point I could put together a worthwhile practice. From there, the book is a valuable reference tool for future practice planning and increasing skill development in players. Definitely recommend!

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone coaching baseball will find a load of helpful info in this book. Plenty of different drills that focus on each aspect of the game are presented with photos and diagrams. Particular focus is given on 3 different age levels, with advice on what to teach players and how to run practice at each level. I had read several other baseball coaching books and this book gave me more useful info then the others combined.

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you ever need to coach your sons baseball team, I highly recommend this book! Learned some great drills and will add these to the bag of tricks!

[Robby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book

I enjoyed reading this book and getting Cal's professional perspective and opinions. The practice plans are an added bonus, too.

[Tevon Lee]

I think the book is good.